Declarative Computing with Shapes and Shadows

We present a preliminary concept and a prototypical implementation of a declarative computing framework that is capable of reasoning about 3D physical entities, and the shadows that they cast in open or uniformly lit environments. For this paper, we restrict our scope of ‘uniform lighting’ to sunlight, and its incidence on a given geospatially and temporally referenced location. The model extends traditional techniques from computational geometry and computer graphics that are primarily motivated by simulation or visualisation. In particular, our declarative framework is capable of deriving and reasoning about the objects and their cast shadows in a knowledge processing sense, e.g., involving qualitative abstraction and semantic specification of requirements, query capability, ensuring conceptual consistency of design requirements. Our ontology of objects and shadows, and the resulting computational framework serves as a foundational engine for high-level conceptual (spatial) design assistance technology. The capabilities demonstrated in this paper are aimed at applications in spatial design, chiefly encompassing Computer-Aided Architecture Design (CAAD), Urban Planning, and Interior Design.